BLOCKCHAIN USED BY US ENERGY DEPT.

The United States Department of Energy is planning to use blockchain technology to build a defense line in order to hinder cyber attacks that aim for the US power stations.

DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory affirmed that Phase II of an electricity system safety scheme initiated in cooperation with a cyber security startup Taekion.

The startup, using the given $1 million grant, is researching methods to utilize blockchain technology with the purpose of exploiting it for security. As the storage of the necessary information is decentralized, no source of error exists.

Other employments of the technology will be used for allowing safe energy transactions to preserve data, raise grid stability, as well as incorporate a more decentralized energy infrastructure, the energy agency declared.

Accurate data regarding the condition of power plants is crucial for electricity system security.

One technique of cyber attacks includes jeopardizing the system in such a way to make it seem operational, while in reality it was disabled by hackers.

A similar attack occurred in Ukraine in 2016, leaving a large portion of people without power through winter.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory stated that the applications, which are being generated, possess the capability to halt comparable assault through stopping hackers from modifying operational information.

This attempt to secure power generation infrastructure is a portion of DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy Sensors and Controls program.